France refuse to give up hope of New Zealand win despite second heavy defeat

Inexperienced France could still head home from New Zealand in early November with a win under their belts, tour captain Alexandra Chambon has insisted, despite a second comfortable defeat in seven days.

“We still finished about 20 points behind, so it’s frustrating,” she said after Saturday’s 31-12 loss at Whangarei. “We had trouble imposing our rhythm, with rucks being slowed down. Creating gaps isn’t as easy.

“They also put a lot of defensive pressure on us. If you don’t have the necessary depth or misread the situation, you get tackled – and that leads to errors. All of that held us back from playing our game effectively.”

But, she insisted, winning in Christchurch on Saturday, wasn’t so much a ‘pipe dream’ as genuine ambition. The question is whether that’s true, or just talk.

Saturday’s defeat was, undoubtedly, much better than the 13-try 81-12 hammering France had endured in Hamilton a week earlier. But it was still a sizable loss, for all that the final scores only tell part of the story.

There was a point, late in the third quarter at Semenoff Stadium, when – with the score at 14-12 – France, playing more pragmatic rugby, could have taken the lead for the third time in the match. They had New Zealand pinned deep in their own half, and were asking serious and probing questions of their defence.

“The gameplan was to avoid playing too much in our own half, to avoid exposing ourselves given the power balance, and to be more effective with our kicking,” Ratier said. “Overall, we managed to keep them pinned in their own half.

“We know they’re a team that plays a lot of attacking rugby, so they tried things. They got a bit carried away at times, and we rattled them.”

Loosehead Ambre Mwayembe, returning from suspension following her red card in the extraordinary match against Australia in Provence in September, crashed through the Black Ferns’ defensive line under the posts.

She could not ground the ball, however. Goalline dropout. New Zealand cleared and France never got as close to scoring again.

Psychologically, that was the turning point – 13 minutes later, following a devastating five-minute three-try spell of unadulterated Black Fernsness, France found themselves 31-12 down.

Head coach François Ratier recognised as much. It would be hard not to. “After [Mwayembe’s try was disallowed], we should have been incredibly tenacious because we knew how deep their bench was,” he said. “We knew that we’d have to weather the storm when they brought those players on.

“We should have been ahead at that moment. It bothers me when we get in situations we can win, like today, and we don’t.”

The numbers show France entered New Zealand’s 22 no fewer than 10 times, scoring two tries on Saturday. The Black Ferns, on the other hand, scored five tries in 11 visits to France’s 22.

In Hamilton, the week previously, New Zealand had crossed the tryline 13 times in 20 visits.

That’s France’s main problem. “The last 15 minutes [in Whang?rei] were a bit of a struggle,” Ratier understated. “They don’t necessarily reflect the game as a whole, but the [final] score is a fact.

“From the inside, we’re in a better position to analyse what happened, bounce back, and prepare for next weekend [in Christchurch] than we were last week, when we had to scrape by. This time, we’ve got something to work with.”

He’s not wrong. But for those five minutes, France were a match for New Zealand, as they had been for much of their earlier meeting in Lyon in September, their first outing since the 2026 Guinness Women’s Six Nations’ decider.

“Improved – that’s the word,” Ratier said. “We were more composed, we were able to go forward and put some things together, so that’s obviously an improvement.

“In terms of strategy, we showed we can be composed and more consistent. Now we need to finish our opportunities and make sure we score when those opportunities come — so we can keep the game really close.

“At the end, we had 14 players on the field, following an injury to another player. The last two tries were a bit heavy, but that’s the game. What’s interesting is how we performed up until the 70th minute. That’s what we’re going to work on.”

Backrow Axelle Berthoumieu and starting centres Teani Feleu and Gabrielle Vernier were all subbed off with shoulder injuries on Saturday. The latter may be fit to play in Christchurch, but early indications were not so promising for two of Les Bleues’ big ball carriers.

Mouna Touré and Cloé Correa, meanwhile, were replaced because of head injuries.

France were already nursing a long player absentee list when they headed to New Zealand – lock Siobhan Soqeta, prop Yllana Brosseau, and back-row Charlotte Escudero all joined Les Bleues’ injury lists during the matches in Lyon, Aix and La Rochelle, while Madoussou Fall Raclot is pregnant, France’s usual captain Manae Feleu is studying for medical exams, and September’s captain Pauline Bourdon Sansus stayed at home for family reasons.

This is far from a full-strength France. “We’re a very young team,” Ratier said. “We want to use this [WXV Global Series], especially here in New Zealand, to bring some new blood into the team and see how we react and how we play under massive pressure. Today, the young players responded really well,” Ratier said.

With one final match before the end of the year to complete the run of six matches in seven WXV Global Series weeks, Ratier is currently 10 months and 10 matches into his run as France’s head coach. Looking back over six wins and four defeats – one against England and three to New Zealand – he insisted that the squad is heading in the right direction, despite the two big losses in a row in the land of the long white cloud.

“This is the team’s first year of evaluation. We have to test the plane at the same time as we’re building it – so sometimes, you take a little hit. Right now, the plane is still flying, so it’s okay. But every time, we try to add something new without taking a step back.”

So what’s next? “We need to develop in our structures the ability to read the game and the tactical thinking to understand the balance of power and respond accordingly. That’s the role of the playmakers. We’re on that path.”

A third WXV Global Series victory for France in their final match in New Zealand, may not be just talk. But they need plenty of things to fall their way in Christchurch at the weekend.